We’re so excited to see a bunch of you one week from now for the last StrictlyVC evening of the year, where there’s going to be a lot of food for thought. You'll hear from Xlight on why its new laser tech could upend semiconductor manufacturing (it’s a big deal); Sandbar on its wearable that captures fleeting thoughts (the new Oura Ring?); and Science Corp — fresh off the cover of Time for restoring vision to the blind — on where brain-computer interfaces are actually heading. Then Chi-Hua Chien (Goodwater Capital) and Elizabeth Weil (Scribble Ventures) will tackle the big question: while everyone poured billions into enterprise AI in 2025, did anyone notice consumers got left behind? We only have a few seats left, so nab yours before they’re gone. Giant thanks to our speakers for joining us, Playground Global for hosting, and to Finstrat Management and BenQ for supporting the night.

Wishing each of you a happy Thanksgiving — see you back here on Monday.:)

Apple is set to overtake Samsung in smartphone shipments for the first time in 14 years, a shift driven by strong iPhone 17 sales and a massive upgrade cycle that could cement Apple’s global lead through the decade. CNBC has more here.

OpenAI rejected claims that its chatbot caused a teenager’s suicide, arguing in a new court filing that the boy circumvented safety rules and misused the system, a defense that sets up a high-stakes test of liability for generative AI. TechCrunch has more here.

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By Dominic-Madori Davis

For Cyriac Lefort, the idea for his new startup, MyHair AI, came two years ago.  The French native was sitting in a hair salon in New York getting a routine haircut when his hairdresser looked at him and said, “You’re starting to lose a bit of hair,” Lefort, who is 32, recalls being told.  

“He didn’t say that to my friend sitting next to me, just to me,” Lefort continued. “In my mind, I wasn’t balding, and I still don’t think I am. But when someone tells you you’re losing your hair, you buy whatever they suggest.” 

So, he bought the shampoo the hairdresser suggested and left thinking that anyone could sell a man anything by telling him that he’s losing his hair. “Hair loss is such an emotional topic for men and women,” he said.  

That interaction sent him down a rabbit hole where he discovered how confusing the hair loss industry is, with so much misinformation and clinics with unverified reviews. (He later went to a hair doctor who told him he was, in fact, not balding.)

Lefort wanted to create a product that, using AI, would help men diagnose hair loss.

Lefort is a serial entrepreneur, having exited one company and currently running two others with Tilen Babnik, who is 28. The duo decided to team up and build a third company: MyHair AI. They vibe coded the product in just a few weeks. It works like this: Users take photos of their heads and upload them to the MyHair app. The AI technology analyzes those photos to measure hair density and detect early signs of hair loss.

Phrontline Biopharma, a three-year-old Shanghai startup that develops bispecific and dual-payload antibody–drug conjugate therapies, raised a $60 million "pre-A+" round led by Lapam Investment, with Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Guofang Innovation, Hankang Venture Capital, Songqing Capital, Jifeng Ventures, and Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited as well as previous investors Decheng Capital, Medfine Health Fund, and C&D Emerging Investment also piling on. More here.

Mnzil, a two-year-old Riyadh startup that develops and operates worker-housing facilities for corporate clients, raised an $11.7 million Series A round led by Founders Fund, with COTU Ventures also engaging. Wamda has more here.

Procure AI, a five-year-old London startup that builds an AI system to automate procurement workflows, raised a $13 million seed round led by Headline, with additional participation from C4 Ventures and Futury Capital. Tech Funding News has more here.

Vijil, a three-year-old Menlo Park startup that builds a system to test and secure AI agents, raised a $17 million Series A round led by BrightMind Partners, with Mayfield and Gradient also taking part. SecurityWeek has more here.

Buildroid AI, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that integrates specialized and general-purpose robots into contractor workflows, raised a $2 million pre-seed round. Tim Draper was the deal lead. Wamda has more here.

The Intelligent Search Company (TISC), a one-year-old Bay Area and Toronto startup that builds a system to surface real-time contextual insights for high-stakes decisions, raised a $2.1 million pre-seed round co-led by OVO Fund and n49p, with Panache Ventures also contributing. More here.

Juo, a five-year-old Warsaw startup that builds technology for creating and managing physical-product subscription programs, raised a $4.6 million seed round co-led by Market One Capital and Peak and including SMOK Ventures, BADideas, FJ Labs, and Lakestar. EU-Startups has more here.

Mira, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that develops AI-powered smart glasses designed to provide real-time, hands-free personal recall and assistance, raised a $6.6 million seed round. The deal was led by General Catalyst. Pulse 2.0 has more here.

Monq, a one-year-old London startup that builds an AI-driven strategic negotiation platform for enterprises, raised a $3 million pre-seed round led by Outward VC, with Cornerstone VC, Portfolio Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Endurance Ventures, and Lakestar Halo also participating. Tech.eu has more here.

Onton, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that applies AI to help consumers search for and compare physical products, raised a $7.5 million round led by Footwork, with Liquid 2, Parable Ventures, and 43 also joining in. The company has raised a total of approximately $10 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Ruminant BioTech, a five-year-old Auckland startup that develops a slow-release bolus to reduce methane emissions in pasture-raised cattle, raised a $9.5 million Series A round co-led by Rosrain Investments and Cultivate Ventures, with Marex and AgriZeroNZ also investing. AgFunderNews has more here.

Project Prometheus, a San Francisco–based AI startup co-founded by Jeff Bezos earlier this year to build systems that can support manufacturing for computers, cars, and spacecraft, quietly acquired one-year-old San Francisco startup General Agents, which is creating agentic computer-control tools. Terms were not disclosed. Wired has more here.

Three top GM execs — Baris Cetinok, Dave Richardson, and Barak Turovsky — exited as the automaker folds hardware, software, and AI into a single organization under new chief product officer Sterling Anderson, signaling a deeper reset of its tech strategy. TechCrunch has more here.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has doubled down on high octane retail trading, leaning into options, crypto, and prediction markets to court a cult of power users even as critics warn the app increasingly resembles a casino. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

MIT researchers say AI could already automate nearly 12% of U.S. jobs, a finding that gives lawmakers a granular map of where disruption is forming as states race to design billion-dollar retraining plans. CNBC has more here.

Formula E is closing in on Formula 1 with a record 561 million global TV viewers in 2024-25, a 422 million-strong fanbase, and race cars now accelerating from zero to sixty in 1.82 seconds, undercutting F1 on acceleration and narrowing the gap on global reach.

Another sad Chevy holiday ad.

Shoei and EyeLights unveiled a motorcycle helmet with an integrated augmented display that projects speed, navigation, and safety data directly into a rider’s line of sight.

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